“Look at our sandcastle, Daddy.”
His gaze locked on Bella, then cut to Everly, and he grinned. “Was that a complete sentence?”
“Yes, sir,” Everly said, glancing at Bella. “We’ve been working hard, haven’t we?”
“Uh-huh,” she said, distracted by her sandcastle.
“I left a copy of our schedule for the day on the dresser in your room,” she told him.
Not a hint of the ecstasy and connection they’d shared the night before leaked into her voice, her expression or her body language. And while that bothered him on an emotional level, logically, he knew he should weep with relief. After all, he’d been the one to insist on “Just tonight. Just this once.”
Of course, that was before they’d not just had sex, but fused themselves together on the most elemental level.
“How’s your foot?” he asked her.
“Fine.” Her voice was clipped and light. “I’ve got the impenetrable duct-tape magic going.”
Indeed, she had created a full duct-tape cast to keep the sand out. He glanced at her shoulder. “Is it working on your shoulder? Maybe you should stop by a doctor’s office today.”
“No, I’m fine. We’re going to hang here. I think we’ve both had enough excitement for one trip.”
A pang of disappointment tugged in his gut. His mind skipped back over their night, wondering if he’d missed a dissatisfied signal. But no, she’d given him every indication that he’d addressed her every need. And then some. He almost wished he hadn’t stopped by on his way out. His reality might have been altered by their night together, but hers was clearly intact, as if nothing had happened between them.
Which is exactly how you want it, he reminded himself.
“Okay,” he said. “Give me a kiss, princess. I’ve gotta go.”
She reluctantly popped a kiss on his cheek before immediately getting back to her sandcastle. “Bye, Daddy.”
Everly sat up straight, moving out of range for any show of affection he might have entertained, her gaze also on the sandcastle as she offered an utterly unaffected “Have fun out there.”
He felt dismissed by the two people he most wanted to stay with.
Shake it off.
Austin pushed to his feet and scanned the beach. It was empty but for his two guards, as expected. As far as the eye could see, they were alone, with no signs of a boat on the water, no choppers or planes in the air. Still, after last night, he wasn’t thrilled to leave them with only three guys, even though he’d trusted his own life to these three men countless times.
“Boss,” Ty said, then lifted his chin toward the house.
Austin found Decker waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
“We’ll be fine.” Everly drew his gaze, and he found her bright blue eyes focused on him for the first time since he’d driven his name from her lips on a moan. “Focus on your work.”
Easier said than done. But he turned and jogged toward Decker with a strangely unsettled sensation in his gut.
He was about to open a dialogue about changing up the security and leaving more men at the house, but Decker spoke first.
“We’ve got a problem.”
Austin hopped to the step with Decker. “What?”
“One of our CIs in town just called with a credible threat,” Decker told him. “Seems the two other guys from last night are gone, but there are two new guys on the ground.”
Austin cut a look at Everly and Bella and found Everly’s gaze focused on him. He was heavily aware of the company execs and team members waiting for him and the guys at the undeveloped property Austin had rented for training. But arriving late and looking unprofessional was the least of his problems at the moment.
He looked at Decker. “Stay or go?”
“I’m surprised you’re asking.”